The perils of sneezing incorrectly

Although no one likes a cold, you have to admit that a powerful sneeze can feel pretty good. In fact, I’ve heard that a sneeze is equivalent to one-third of an orgasm.

I’m fairly sure that that statistic isn’t backed up by peer-reviewed research, but you get my point.

But, as a wise man once said, “All that glitters is not gold.” Sneezing may give you a pleasurable shiver, but, as we shall learn, it can also cause significant damage to your innards if you do it wrong.

Spontaneous rupture of the back of the throat is a rare occurrence. When it does happen, it is most often caused by a surgical procedure gone wrong or blunt neck trauma.

So, when a young, healthy 34-year-old who hadn’t been in an accident rocked up at an emergency room with a ruptured throat, the doctors were a tad perplexed.

The man explained that he had attempted to quash a sneeze by blocking his nostrils and mouth. He experienced an immediate popping sensation in his neck, which quickly swelled up. As time passed, it became painful to swallow, and his voice vanished almost entirely.

When the doctors examined him, they detected cracking and popping sounds, or crepitus, from his neck down to his ribcage. Crepitus is a sign that air bubbles have gained entrance to the deep tissues and muscles of the chest.

A scan confirmed that, as expected, the man had air bubbles in places where there shouldn’t be any air.

It turns out that one of the man’s sinuses, perhaps the piriform sinus, had perforated thanks to the sudden increase in pharyngeal pressure.

Just to give you the low-down on related medical terminology, when a gas enters tissues beneath the skin, it is referred to as subcutaneous emphysema. Meanwhile, pneumomediastinum occurs when air is found in the mediastinum, which is the central compartment of the thoracic cavity. Just to give you the low-down on related medical terminology, when a gas enters tissues beneath the skin, it is referred to as subcutaneous emphysema. Meanwhile, pneumomediastinum occurs when air is found in the mediastinum, which is the central compartment of the thoracic cavity.